Customs and duty-free allowances in United Kingdom
Part of the United Kingdom arrival guide.
This information may change. Always check the official source.Last verified: August 2026 by Ondřej Kadlec
Bringing things into United Kingdom
Leave at home
Meat and dairy from most non-EU countries
Self-defence sprays
Flick knives
Duty-free allowance
200 cigarettes
4 L of spirits, 18 L of wine, 42 L of beer
GBP 390 of other goods
Cash to declare
GBP 10,000 or more
The threshold covers cash and equivalents carried by one traveller. Not declaring it is what causes the money to be seized, not the amount itself.
The alcohol allowance is unusually generous but rigid: go one litre over the 18 litres of wine and duty is charged on all eighteen, not on the excess. The spirits allowance may be swapped for 9 litres of sparkling or fortified wine, and other goods drop to GBP 270 if you arrive by private plane or boat.
The UK allowance is generous on alcohol and unforgiving about going over it: exceed the wine limit by a litre and duty is charged on the whole eighteen.
The alcohol allowance is 42 litres of beer and 18 litres of still wine, plus either 4 litres of spirits over 22 % or 9 litres of sparkling or fortified wine. You can split that last one - two litres of gin and four and a half of port.
Go over and you pay on everything in that category, not on the excess. Nineteen litres of wine is duty on nineteen litres.
Tobacco is 200 cigarettes or 250 g of loose tobacco or 50 cigars, and the same either-or split applies.
Other goods are capped at GBP 390, dropping to GBP 270 if you arrive by private plane or boat. Allowances cannot be pooled between travellers.
GBP 10,000 or more in cash must be declared when you travel between Great Britain and any other country, and that includes the EU.
Meat and dairy from most non-EU countries are banned outright, along with self-defence sprays and flick knives. Northern Ireland follows the EU rules instead, not these.
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